One of the best parts of living in English is that you are surrounded by so much HISTORY. About 10 miles from our house is a place called Fountains Abbey. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s now owned by the National Trust and considered to be the largest and best-preserved Abbey ruins in the UK.
(This picture is compliments of the National Trust website)
As an American, it’s a challenge to wrap your mind around a structure that dates back to the year 1132. That’s when 13 Benedictine monks left the St. Mary’s Abbey in York, seeking a more devout and simple lifestyle. The Abbey flourished and became prosperous as land was given to them by surrounding nobles. At the high point in its 700 year history, the Abbey precinct covers 70 acres surrounded by 11-foot stone walls. The Abbey owned hundreds of acres of surrounding land with they used for farming and mining to add to their wealth. Aside from the occasional plague and attacks from marauding Scotsmen, the Abbey grew to a position of wealth and power in England, until Henry the VIII had that little spat with the Pope over a divorce. Henry formed his own church which conveniently included dissolving all the monasteries and seizing all their land and wealth in 1539.
After the dissolution, the Abbey was seized by a wealth nobleman and the property remained in private hands until 1966. It was then owned by various local government entities until 1983 when it was purchased by the National Trust World Heritage status was granted by UNESCO in 1986.
I drive by this incredible artifact regularly. It’s in top 5 list of places I love to show my American friends who visit us. It’s also a gorgeous place for an afternoon stroll. In October and November each year the Abbey is open after dark on Friday and Saturday evenings. The structures are illuminated with flood lights.
Recordings of Gregorian chants are played in the bell tower. It’s an incredible experience!
Local acapella groups perform in the cellarium. This is the only part of the abbey that still has a roof in place. It is over 300 feet long and the original built for food storage. The many vaults in the ceiling make for incredible acoustics.
Hubby and I weren’t lucky enough to get fog this year, but it still made for a fun date night.
Check out these links to learn more about the Abbey: